Sports

6:41 am

Thu June 26, 2014

Germany and the United States are meeting in the World Cup, and an Alabama-based group is making the most of it.

The AlabamaGermany Partnership is holding a game-watching party in Birmingham on Thursday.

The organization promotes better relations and trade between the two countries. There's a strong German influence in Huntsville because of the space industry, and the German auto company Mercedes-Benz has a plant in Tuscaloosa County.

On Wednesday, investors paid Germany to hold on to their money for a couple years.

That's right: Germany got to borrow more than 4 billion euros (about $5 billion), and instead of Germany paying interest to its lenders, the lenders are paying Germany. This a lot like Citibank paying you a smidgen to carry a balance on your credit card or to take out a loan (without also charging you interest).